McCaskill and Pitchforks: Dissecting the Sentences

Missouri Democratic Senator, Claire McCaskill, has been cited as one of the more vulnerable Democrat senators facing re-election in 2012. Unsurprisingly, ever since the Mid-Term elections of November 2010, she had been making a concerted effort to appear more moderate. But that ended recently as she spoke about the effort to extend the current tax rates for ALL Americans, including the top earners. As she spoke, she lurched violently to the left!

Here are her comments, verbatim:

“I’m trying to figure out how anyone in America can take the Republican Party seriously about deficit reduction. I’m trying to figure out how anyone can keep a straight face and say they’re for deficit reduction while they insist on a permanent tax cut for the wealthiest Americans… completely unpaid for.

Now, they want to say this is class warfare. Well… y’know, in a way it is. Because we’re fighting for the middle class. We are fighting for the middle class. Frankly, the middle class hasn’t had enough champions in America.

Seventy percent of American don’t itemize deductions. That big-old complex tax code… It’s been written for wealthy Americans. The ones that itemize deductions. And then you get to the very very top… where a lot of these peoples income is all about dividends and capital gains, and not even ordinary income; and they have all kinds of ways that they can use the tax code to avoid paying taxes.

This is about leveling the playing field, for what has always made our country different than everyone else. That is a strong, vibrant middle class. And I will tell you this: If they think it’s ok to raise taxes for the embattled middle class because they’re going to pout if we don’t give more money to millionaires… it really is time for the people of America to take up pitchforks.

And all those people that are out there in the Tea Party that are angry about the economics of Washington; they really need to look at this. They need to pull back the curtain and realize that you’ve got a republican party that’s not worried about the people in the Tea Party; they’re worried about people that can’t decide which home to go to over the Christmas Holidays. They’re worried about the people who think they may take a jaunt to Europe for the new year. They’re not worried about those people who are packing those town halls. Cause those folks are the middle class.

So yes, we’re going to continue to fight for the middle class. We’ve net cut taxes $400 Billion in the last 8 months. Targeted like a laser on the middle class and small business. And we’re going to continue to fight for that middle class and for those small businesses. Throughout the end of this year, and all through next year, and beyond.

But please quit taking these guys seriously about the deficit. What a joke!”

How anyone can listen to the entire statement without choking is beyond me – I had to take it in small chunks. But let’s dissect the statement, a phrase or a sentence at a time… because there are very few instances where 2 or more sentences are strung together without a massive error, lie or misdirection!

“I’m trying to figure out how anyone in America can take the Republican Party seriously about deficit reduction. I’m trying to figure out how anyone can keep a straight face and say they’re for deficit reduction while they insist on a permanent tax cut for the wealthiest Americans… completely unpaid for.

Ok, so she can’t see how Republicans are serious about Deficit Reduction. Let’s not even spend much ink on the fact that the deficit was TRIPLED in Obama’s first year… or the fact that this TRILLION Dollar Deficit is only the first of MANY Trillion Dollar deficits, projected out as far as the eye can see!

Claire thinks that one cannot support lower taxes and be consistent with calls for reduced deficits. I could write an entire piece on this myth alone, but lets examine this presumption she adheres to.

First, she is relying upon an economic myth foisted upon the American population. The myth that tax RATES are directly proportional to tax REVENUES. They are emphatically NOT! Raising tax rates has historically put a damper on economic growth, and rarely results in significant gains in revenue. But more importantly, tax rate REDUCTIONS have universally stimulated the economy and resulted in INCREASED revenues. This is provable every time it’s been tried. It happened under Kennedy. It happened under Reagan (whose tax cuts DOUBLED federal revenues!!) It happened under Bush. Therefore, reducing taxes doesn’t COST… it PAYS!! The concept of “paying for” rate reductions is a lie.

Deficits are NEVER a factor of insufficient taxation. They are not a function of revenues. Deficits are a function of SPENDING! As mentioned, Reagan DOUBLED revenues after his tax cuts. But all you’ll hear about the Reagan economic policy is the so-called “Reagan Deficits”. The fact is that these were the Tip O’Neal deficits!!! The Democrat Congress at the time, under the leadership of former Speaker Tip O’Neal, spent $1.84 in new spending for every $1 in new revenue generated by the tax rate reductions!

Reagan submitted balanced budgets to Congress. They were famously declared “dead on arrival” by the Tip O’Neal House.

Now, they want to say this is class warfare. Well… y’know, in a way it is. Because we’re fighting for the middle class.

Well, I’m glad she actually admitted it! It IS INDEED class warfare. This feeds another Democrat propagated myth: The myth of the “Zero Sum Game”. This fallacy posits that the economy is a closed system. That in order for someone to have more, someone else must have less. Thus anyone who succeeds above a certain point is depriving someone else of a decent living… and fairness demands a redistribution to “level the playing field”.

But the economy is NOT a zero sum game! You don’t make the poor richer by making the rich poorer. You make EVERYONE more prosperous by growing the economy! You may get a smaller slice of the pie than someone else, but by growing the pie, you still get more pie! Or, as Reagan said… a rising tide lifts all boats.

Seventy percent of American don’t itemize deductions.

That’s true! But not because they’re not ELIGIBLE to do so! Many people pay more in taxes than they have to, because they DON’T go through the trouble to itemize. EVERY HOMEOWNER should consider itemizing… but so many people just want to just get thru the oppressive tax process – especially if they’re going to get a refund by just taking the standard deduction… that they’ll file a quick and easy form! But this is a function of ignorance, and laziness and not some conspiracy to aid the rich!

And then you get to the very very top… where a lot of these peoples income is all about dividends and capital gains, and not even ordinary income; and they have all kinds of ways that they can use the tax code to avoid paying taxes.

I’m guessing she forgot that most Senior Citizens (those who aren’t COMPLETELY dependent on the Government Social Security dole) are relying on “dividends and capital gains” to pay their bills and keep food on the table! Not everyone receiving dividends and capital gains is a top-hat and monocle wearing moneybag.

This is about leveling the playing field, for what has always made our country different than everyone else. That is a strong, vibrant middle class.

Yeah. That “leveling the playing field” I mentioned with the Zero Sum myth. This is a primary tenet of the Socialist and the Communist. Redistribution of Wealth. “From each according to his ability – to each according to his need”. She wants to expand the middle class by pulling the wealthy down into it!

If they think it’s ok to raise taxes for the embattled middle class…

THEY DON’T! The GOP wasn’t trying to raise taxes on ANYONE! They were trying to PREVENT AUTOMATIC INCREASES! If NOTHING were done, EVERYONE would suffer a massive Obama Tax Hike. Even Obama didn’t want that! But the GOP was adamant that the current rates… the rates that had been in force since 2003… should be allowed to continue for everyone! There is no reason to impose a massive Obama Tax Hike on ANYONE, including the upper incomes! This was the basis for the debate.

…because they’re going to pout if we don’t give more money to millionaires…

How is preventing a massive tax increase and retaining current rates equated to GIVING money to ANYONE? What kind of leftist stupid-speak is it that presumes money EARNED and BELONGING to the earner is actually property of the Government, and is GIVEN to anyone? How is MAINTAINING CURRENT TAX RATES somehow a gift to the wealthy?

…it really is time for the people of America to take up pitchforks.

REALLY, Claire? I thought it was those evil Tea Partiers calling for violence in the streets!! (Sarcasm) Can you imagine the uproar if Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin made such a statement!!

And all those people that are out there in the Tea Party that are angry about the economics of Washington; they really need to look at this. They need to pull back the curtain and realize that you’ve got a republican party that’s not worried about the people in the Tea Party; they’re worried about people that can’t decide which home to go to over the Christmas Holidays. They’re worried about the people who think they may take a jaunt to Europe for the new year. They’re not worried about those people who are packing those town halls. Cause those folks are the middle class.

One must remember that the upper income earners are the driving force behind job creation in this country. They are business owners who hire people. When they are successful, they expand their businesses and hire more people. They are consumers who buy things that middle class people have jobs to produce. They patronize services performed by middle class workers. I wrote recently about the unintended consequences upon the middle class that were inflicted by the class warriors of the 80s who passed a punitive tax on luxury yachts. When the wealthy stopped buying yachts and found other places to spend their money, it was the industries, businesses and services that were depending upon the yachting community that suffered. Boatbuilders lost jobs. Marinas closed. Restaurants near marinas suffered. You get the idea. In the end these middle class workers who were directly hurt by the tax lobbied Congress LOUDLY and ultimately this punitive luxury tax was repealed as a miserable failure and boondoggle. Enough time has passed that most people have forgotten this chapter in our economic history. It is therefore appropriate to remind you.

So yes, we’re going to continue to fight for the middle class. We’ve net cut taxes $400 Billion in the last 8 months. Targeted like a laser on the middle class and small business. And we’re going to continue to fight for that middle class and for those small businesses. Throughout the end of this year, and all through next year, and beyond.

But please quit taking these guys seriously about the deficit. What a joke!”

You can’t demonstrate tax benefits like that, Claire! We may have realized a reduction in revenues – because leftist policies have dragged the economy to a crawl… but there have been no NET TAX BENEFITS.

And if ANYONE wants to get serious about the deficit, the issue is SPENDING, not revenues. As demonstrated every time... Tax REDUCTIONS increase revenues. Tax INCREASES rarely succeed in raising revenues. And Democrat majorities spend nearly $2 for every $1 in increased revenues.

Conversely, spending and deficits have gone DOWN whenever we’ve had GOP majorities!

Early in Clinton’s administration, he refinanced the debt with short term low interest paper. This began a reduction in deficits as interest payments were reduced. Unfortunately this was a political move to make him look good, as he knew he’d have to refinance that debt at a higher rate a couple years later. But in 1996 the Gingrich Revolution brought about a power shift in Washington. For the first time in nearly 50 years, the GOP was the majority in Congress. This began a series of annual reductions in the deficit that ultimately crossed that magic line and we had a couple years of surplus. This was under a GOP Congress, though CLINTON gets the credit! (Of course it’s CONGRESS that has the power of the purse, but that fact is only applied when it benefits the left!)

The surpluses continued until 9/11 and the dot com bust. This was followed by the run up and implementation of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. There were significant deficits in 2001 thru 2003. Sadly, these are what is touted by the left against the Bush Presidency. But what followed is conveniently ignored.

In 2003, Bush passed the Tax Cuts. In 2004, the deficit of 2003 was cut in HALF. In 2005, the deficit was 1/3 of the 2003 deficit. We were on our way back to a balanced budget.

Then came 2006 and the power shift in Congress. The 111th Pelosi-Reid congress was elected in November 2006 and seated in January 2007.

The 2005 deficit was tripled.

Then Barack Obama took office. And the 2008 deficit was tripled, and deficits crossed into territory never CONCEIVED of before. TRILLION dollar deficits.

WHO are the ones uninterested in deficit reduction? The ones who spent $787 Billion in Stimulus? The ones who gave us ObamaCare? The ones who are trying to give us Cap and Trade?